Archaeology

In the Middle Palaeolithic (which dates from 100,000 to 35,000 B.C.) we find new traces of human presence in the province of Nuoro: in two caves on the Dorgali coast (Grotta di Ziu Santoru and Grotta di Cala Luna).

Burnt deer bones and tiny bits of coal have been discovered in this area.  Numerous skeletal remains of deer with incisions, man-made carvings and signs of fire were then found in Grotta Corbeddu, and also rough and atypical instruments of the Upper Palaeolithic (35,000-10,000 B.C.).

Up to now, there is no sign of the Mesolithic (10,000-6,000 B.C.).  With the Ancient Neolithic or New Stone Age or “Età della Pietra Levigata” (6,000-4,000 B.C.) we have on the island the first cultural displays of some importance.

Agriculture and the domestication of animals developed, as well as pottery which was used to preserve and cook food, trade and later there were advances in navigation techniques, principally coasting trade. Therefore pottery becomes one of the characteristics which distinguishes the different archeological periods differentiating them according to their material, decoration and shape in the various ages.

Also in this period, the exploitation and trading of obsidian from Monte Arci exported into Italy and southern France is to be noted.  In the Middle Neolithic the Bonu Ighinu culture (about 4,600-3,240 B.C.) was born.  The main characteristic of this culture is the construction of artificial small grottoes which were used as tombs, inside which were found female votive statuettes which represent the venerated Goddess of pre-history: “la Dea Madre” (The Mother Goddess).

The Recent Neolithic (3,800-2,900 B.C.) is characterized by the Culture of Ozieri or San Michele which takes its name from the cave of the same name located near to Ozieri (SS) and which is widespread throughout the whole island.

The Domus de Janas, a tomb excavated from rock represents the creation of this culture and dates from this period. The name means “Fairies House” and comes from popular culture.  Many of these tombs have the characteristic of representing the houses of the living, providing an important testimony to the structure of pre-historic huts.  The DOMUS DE JANAS can be found isolated or much more often in groups: necropolis.

Their structure consists of one or more rooms (cells) which form a well-organised and developed map in a longitudinal, transversal or concentric direction.

The DOLMEN are also from this period; the word is of Breton origin and means “stone tables”. As a matter of fact the typical shape of the dolmen is  a slab of stone placed horizontally on top of two or more vertical slabs.  The function of this extremely basic type of construction was as a tomb.  The same goes for the circular megaliths of Gallura.

These are funeral monuments which have the external shape of a circle of stone surrounding a quadrangular “chest” in the centre.  This particular type of funerary monument was exclusively developed in the restricted area of “Li Muri” near to Arzachena (SS).  The MENHIR (from the Welsh maen hir, long stone) are also from this period and are also known in Sardinia as “perdas fittas” or “perdas fichidas” (literally “upright stones”).  They are, specifically,  elongated stones standing upright from the ground.

Constructed mainly in granite, trachyte or basalt, they are essentially distributed all over Sardinia and are of prismatic shape which tends to taper towards the top, which can be either pointed or truncated.  The pottery of this period is finely decorated with engraved patterns and carved onto clay and often coloured with red ochre or white paste.  Amongst the hand-made items, arrows, blades and hatchets were made from obsidian and flint and were delicately worked with great skill.

During The Copper Age (2,500-1,800 B.C.) and with the Filigosa and Abelzu Cultures, which are characterized, the former by angular shaped vases and the latter by typical flask-shaped vases, we see the appearance of bronze instruments and weapons.

From a cultural point of view there is a considerable impoverishment compared to the previous phase, probably owing to a change in the relationships between the different populations.  In this period the deceased continued to be buried in the Neolithic Domus de Janas and new ones were excavated.  The “armed” menhir statues of Sarcidano appeared next to the Dolmen tombs.

The Sanctuary of Monte d’Accoddi, situated on the road from Sassari to Porto Torres is one of the most important creations of this period.  Then the Monte Claro culture appeared, characterized by a type of pottery which for the most part was decorated with grooves.

Some Megalithic walls (Monte Baranta, Olmedo), which were erected to control the territory and which are testimony to the climate of insecurity, can be attributed to this culture. Between the Copper and Bronze Ages there is the cultural trend of the “Vaso Campaniforme” (Bell Beaker Culture) characterized by a typical beaker in the shape of a bell.

The Bronze Age (1,800-1,500 B.C.), in its most ancient phase, witnesses the development of the Bonnanaro Culture, characterized for the most part by undecorated pottery with angular handles.  In this period the megalithic burial places evolved into a kind of elongated room, anticipating the typical nuragic burial places: “la Tomba dei Giganti” (Giants’ Tomb).

The beginning of the true Nuragic civilization dates back to the very final phase of the Bonnannaro Culture, developing until the sixth century BC, and lasting in some areas up to the Roman conquest.  The date of about 1,500 B.C. marks the beginning of this civilization.

The main characteristic of the Nuragic Age architecture is the tendency towards constructions for defence.  The nuraghe is a building with specific control and defence functions, created as a consequence of a condition of instability which, probably, in this period became worse, relating to the defence of particular economic interests linked to the extraction and the use of copper, a mineral  which Sardinia is rich in.  Furthermore, the island found itself at a particularly important strategic point on the road of tin.

The building technique is called (in Greek style) “ciclopica” (Cyclopean). It consisted of unworked or little worked polygonal blocks using  wedges, but together with this technique another one was used with finely worked stone, the so called “isodoma”.  Besides the “corridoio” (“corridor”) nuraghi and “tholos” (the oldest) ones, there were also structures which together with a simple tower had other elements which made them true and proper fortesses.

The Nuragic civilization was predominantly fragmented into many small communities which developed around the nuraghi.  Various structures were created for cults, such as: sacred wells, sacred springs, small temples “in antis” and the famous “Giants’ Tombs”, a particular funerary construction so named by popular tradition because of the huge size of the structures and so were considered suitable only for giants. (in fact they were used as collective tombs).

In the Iron Age (900-500 B.C.) the Nuragic civilization distinguishes itself by the creation of the spectacular Sardinian “bronzetti” (small bronzes); statuettes with both a practical and  ornamental function that are offered as a gift to the deity.  They were made with a wax technique on a clay mould and they represent the culmination of the technical skill of the Nuragic master craftsmen-artists in the fusion of metals.

The bronze statuettes constitute important historical records depicting men, animals, votive boats, stylized objects but exact in the reality of the detail.  As far as pottery is concerned, we should say that it has much in common with that of the previous age, initially decorated “a pettine” (comb-decorated) which is characterized by a geometric style decoration.  During the course of the century new shapes of vase were introduced which were differentiated more by the material used than the shape.

Alongside the bronze figures there is the production of weapons, utensils, various objects in bronze created by a matrix of steatite (a volcanic heat-resistant stone).  The island’s metal was also the catalyst that drove the Cretan merchants, the Mycenaeans, the Cypriots and later on, the Phoenicians to colonize Sardinia, with seasonal calls in the beginning and then permanently.

The wars with the Phoenicians and then the Carthaginians and ultimately with the Romans would determine the end of Nuragic Sardinia, thus beginning the period of Roman Sardinia.